Staff Sgt. Jerry Nutbrown brings you behind the scenes with pieces about police work and how it’s done in our community. If you have a question you think needs to be answered, send it to admin@borderpulse.ca and we will be sure to share it with him.
The Canadian judicial system is set up to allow second chances acknowledging that people can make
poor decisions that leads them to interactions with law enforcement and then possibly attendance in
court before a justice or judge.
Second chances may be no more prevalent then when we navigated our own youthful years making
some poor decisions but were hopefully given a second chance. Most people appreciate and benefit
from second chances; I know I do.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) has second chances written right into it. This Act compels second
chances as it requires lower-level criminal offences to be dealt with at the lowest appropriate level
possible and this could be with the youth just receiving a warning. There are escalating consequences
within the YCJA that police officers must consider before getting to the point of laying a charge.
Also, for adults, officers can sometimes work things out between people where a criminal offence had
occurred but given the circumstances, a second chance may be an appropriate response. This could be
as simple as a victim getting an apology from an offender versus being charged. Police can facilitate this
as it may be the best way to address the incident as it solely involves the victim and accused who decide
the outcome. However, if the accused has been involved in past incidents where charges were laid or
could have been laid, it seems the accused already had their second chance but it didn’t have the
intended effect. For traffic offenses an officer may exercise discretion and not write a ticket.
If a criminal charge was laid there are provisions to provide someone a second chance. This could be by
the Crown Prosecutor staying a charge or a judge, in finding someone guilty, sentencing them with an
absolute discharge. This is where an accused is found guilty without being convicted and no conditions
are put on their release from the charge(s).
A couple of weeks ago I was in a local courtroom to see how some of my members were doing in
presenting evidence in trials, and I saw second chances. The sitting judge this day gave second chances
to some of the people that were there as they were facing criminal charges. Not that they weren’t held
accountable but rather that they received lighter sentences.
The judge didn’t just stick to the details of the individual’s specific incidents but spoke to them about
their personal circumstances. He asked them about care givers/parents and children as a way of getting
information about the supports and responsibilities they have in their individual situations as personal
circumstances can be a positive influence.
He talked about the support they had from their family circle and what their overall personal situation
was. This included employment, childcare, schooling, etc. The discussion provided the judge information
that allowed him to tailor the sentence to something best suited for the accused in order to get them
moving forward in a positive manner. A second chance.
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